The Europeanisation of insurance contract law

Abstract

The ultimate objective of this dissertation is to recommend the way forward towards the harmonisation of insurance contract law in the European Union (EU), keeping in mind the ultimate scope of a complete single European insurance market. Initially, this dissertation examines the roots of the legal systems in European Union member states and the differences between one legal system and another. The first part of the dissertation aims to demonstrate how insurance laws and policies within member states have developed to be different from one another and the ways in which such divergences create obstacles to insurance cross-border trade. This study then progresses to examine the practical situation in Malta by reflecting feedback obtained from local insurance managers and insurance principals which habitually trade across EU borders. Following this foundation, this dissertation then moves forward to examine the steps taken to date by the EU towards harmonisation. An overview of communications and legal texts which the EU has delivered to date, together with drafts of the proposed harmonising texts provided by the Project Groups appointed by the Commission, are crucial for the formation of a sound basis that needs to support a resulting recommendation that ensures a smooth transition Into a Europeanised Insurance contract regime. The last chapter of this dissertation questions whether Europeanisation can also have its disadvantages and in the affirmative, whether these are of a significant enough magnitude to outweigh the advantages which the dissertation demonstrates would ensue once Europeanisation occurs. The final parts of this study focus on the manner in which Europeanisation can take place. The dissertation questions whether the harmonising instrument proposed should be.